Heartless

By Author / Illustrator

Marissa Meyer

Genre

Adventure

Publisher

Pan Macmillan

ISBN

9781509814138

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

09-02-2017

Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer, comes Heartless, a vision of Wonderland like none you've seen before, telling the untold story of the girl who would the notorious Queen of Hearts.

Long before she was the Queen of Hearts, Catherine Pinkerton was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Reviews

Inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice, this novel tells the story of Catherine, who will become the Queen of Hearts. So we know from the start roughly where the story is heading, and the author relies on the reader knowing a fair amount about Alice (which given the popularity of the book and its film adaptations is probably realistic). The problem I had with the book is the change in tone as it progresses. It starts as a light and fluffy love story with Cath who, although the daughter of the aristocracy in the superficial party loving world of Hearts, loves to bake and has a dream of setting up a bakery with her maid and friend Mary Ann. There are lots of delicious descriptions of the baked goods she makes. The foolish but harmless King of Hearts wants to marry her, but then she meets and falls in love with his clever, glamorous court jester who, it turns out, is on a secret mission from Chess (as in Through the Looking Glass). Soon, things turn dark, and we can see Cath heading towards becoming the cruel and vindictive Queen. I found the change in Cath's character hard to believe, and it did rather feel like two different books stuck together. The book brings in many of Lewis's characters and scenarios - the Mad Hatter, the Jabberwocky, the Mock Turtle - and tries to emulate his wit and humour, with mixed success. The love interest is described in gushing romantic prose, turning to overblown tragedy, which I felt didn't sit so well with the clever but nonsensical Lewis Carroll elements. Teenage readers may well disagree with me, judging by the popularity of Marissa Meyer's other books! 464 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Carol Williams, school librarian.